Independence Days, Year 3, Week 6

1. Plant something – Waiting for last weeks' plantings to come up... which I think are coming up today (that crackin' ground look)... then I'll plant more...

2. Harvest something - Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing,continued to take cuttings of herbs, lettuce....

3. Preserve something – does it count if I freeze 1/2 the cookie dough, or is that want not?

4. Waste Not– not doin' so well this week...

5. Want Not – my 4th NiCe clothes rack - now I can put up 2 or 3 loads at once,inside! Found it at a swap meet, along with some storage jars and other bits...

6. Build Community Food Systems – Continued patronizing local creamery/dairy... Sprouts are finally up for friends, anyone in the area need some onion sets... I have a few, um, extra....... (who will need garlic in the fall, 'cause I might just have some extra then too... hehe)

7. Eat the Food – last fall's garlic sauteed in Golden Glen butter (well, my butter, from their heavy cream) then frozen peppers and peas from last year... add in cooked pasta (from pantry) and a dollop of heavy cream and some herbs... mmm kinda addicting. Not nearly as good w/olive oil and soy milk. :-/

Independence Days, Year 3, Week 5... trying to get back on track

1. Plant something – Carrots, beets, rutabagas, radishes, peas, herbs, herbs, herbs.

2. Harvest something - Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing, since I never pulled up the onion.... Continued to take cuttings of herbs. AND (!) my first lettuce harvest this year!!!

3. Preserve something – I've been working on herbal medicine from some fresh/dried things; it's not really preserving something, but learning how to preserve things when I grow them... For me, it's a step in the right direction.

4. Waste Not– Compost turns into garden produce right...

5. Want Not – Um, refer to last post?

6. Build Community Food Systems – Not much.

7. Eat the Food – who doesn't like garlic, onions, and herbs?! Oh, and ate leftovers, stuff from the freezer...

Independence Days, Year 3, Week 4... a bit late

A few days late... but I've been sick... that's not against the rules, right?

1. Plant something – Transplanted like crazy: peppers (3 types), tomatoes (2 types), basil, squash/melons (2 types), onions, um, well, it felt like transplanting craziness...

2. Harvest something - Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing, since I never pulled up the onion.... Continued to take cuttings of herbs.

3. Preserve something – I've been working on herbal medicine from some fresh/dried things; it's not really preserving something, but learning how to preserve things when I grow them... For me, it's a step in the right direction. Froze leftovers a couple of times...

4. Waste Not– Compost turns into garden produce right... Took a bunch of the jersey knit cotton (e.g. tee-shirt) scraps from the scrap/small pieces bin and turned them into hankies in just enough time... ugh....

5. Want Not – Decided to buy bulk used towels for messy projects - mainly dog-related. Found a bag that had the right color sticker - 7 rag towels for $2.50 plus tax, and frankly, two of those towels are in better condition that some of our shower towels... Made a concentrated effort to eat leftovers EVERY DAY for most of the week (until the sickness came over). Went a little wild with the 50% off organic lite coconut milk sale... what can I say, we love curry.

6. Build Community Food Systems – Continued working with hubby to come up with ways to convince in-laws to allow chickens at their place... We have a corner lot, they have an acre. We have a ferocious dog, they have a docile cat. We're in city limits, they're county... For now, we continue buying and bartering for truly free-range eggs from a co-worker of B's that are NUMMY!

7. Eat the Food – who doesn't like garlic, onions, and herbs?! Oh, and ate leftovers, stuff from the freezer,

Independence Days, Year 3, Week 3

1. Plant something – I was gone for four and a half days, and just didn't get this far...

2. Harvest something - Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing, since I never pulled up the onion.... Continued to take cuttings of herbs.

3. Preserve something – I've been working on herbal medicine from some fresh/dried things; it's not really preserving something, but learning how to preserve things when I grow them... For me, it's a step in the right direction. Froze some basil... we'll see how it turns out.

4. Waste Not– Compost turns into garden produce right... organized sewing scraps into categories - for stuffing only, smaller than a piece of paper, less than a yard, and started projects. I've been purposing to go to craigslist, freecycle, and thrift stores before thinking, I could go to store XYZ to get ABC item.

5. Want Not – more organizing sewing stuff - keeps me from over-buying things, and gives me the ability to fix things instead of buying new(ish).

6. Build Community Food Systems – ...

7. Eat the Food – who doesn't like garlic, onions, and herbs?!

Independence Days, Year 3, Week 2

1. Plant something – Peanuts, onion sets, acorn squash, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower...

2. Harvest something - Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing, since I never pulled up the onion.... Continued to take cuttings of herbs. Learned that kale that's bolted tastes AWFUL!

3. Preserve something – I've been working on herbal medicine from some fresh/dried things; it's not really preserving something, but learning how to preserve things when I grow them... For me, it's a step in the right direction.

4. Waste Not– Compost turns into garden produce right... we cleaned out the fridge and tossed a lot that seems to get lost... I think if I ever have the chance to design a fridge, it'll be much more shallow, maybe a deep spot in the bottom for big dishes, but mainly shallow - so everything can be seen and accessed easily...

5. Want Not – organizing sewing stuff - keeps me from over-buying things, and gives me the ability to fix things instead of buying new(ish).

6. Build Community Food Systems – Started acorn squash in greenhouse for someone.

7. Eat the Food – who doesn't like garlic, onions, and herbs?!

Independence Days, Year 3... A.K.A. Erika Tries the Blogging Commitment Thing!

I'm gonna cheat... Starting off on the wrong foot... I know... but I'm just going to start where I am now, seeing as I haven't mastered the year-round thing yet.

1. Plant something – Lettuce (leaf and romaine), cucumbers, 2 kinds of squash, 2 kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of peppers (I think... maybe just one), celery, celeriac, cilantro (it will never make it to seed 'round here for coriander... we'll be lucky to save seed this year!), Egyptian walking onions (purchased as starts), and aloe.

2. Harvest something - Made Mung Bean sprouts... does that count? Harvested some of the green onions that keep growing, since I never pulled up the onion.... Continued to take cuttings of herbs.

3. Preserve something – I've been working on herbal medicine from some fresh/dried things; it's not really preserving something, but learning how to preserve things when I grow them... For me, it's a step in the right direction.

4. Waste Not– Realized it's time to plant last year's potatoes, we've eaten all the ones that haven't sprouted. We started buying food less often, planning meals, and prepping food in bigger chunks - avoiding our biggest pitfall - going out 'cause it'll take too long to cook. Roasted garlic that was starting to sprout.

5. Want Not – Brought in a truckload of soil for my herb/kitchen garden, hubby built a fence to keep Jessi-Lou out of said garden, hubby built a cold-frame out of scrap wood and an old window we got from freecycle... and hinges from the re-store, I'm sure there's more...

6. Build Community Food Systems – I'm always talking with folks about local food... haven't done much more, other than make some connections for future bartering...

7. Eat the Food – Roasted garlic, freezer meals, etc. Made some NUMMY garlic with home grown herbs and garlic with flour grown and milled in-state... I really need to work on a good fluffy bread recipe... mine are always crunchier than crunchy on the outside, and not very fluffy...

Naked Dog Update

So, we've figured out what Jessi-Lou is allergic to - mosquitoes! I slathered her up pretty well on the 4th, but she still got bit once on the head, which turned into an ugly spot. She then got bit again on the side (we actually killed the bugger that got her... while it was on her...), and it's been bothering her for a few days. Her hair is growing back in nicely, but she still looks somewhat pathetic.

Independence Days.... um.... yeah... I've transplanted more peppers and tomatoes, but need to transplant more... and we ate the first ripe tomato yesterday at dinner. Jessi actually pulled it off a plant and it ripened in the window, but it still counts (and it was still better than the store-bought one we used with it). There are two more tomatoes turning reddish - one will be ready in a few days, the other one might be a week or so. We also used quite a bit of parsley for goodies over the weekend of the 4th. One of these days, I'll catch up and write the actual post to go with this...

--Erika

Independence Day #4, 5, and 6... Bad Erika...

1. Plant something: transplanted tomatoes, dragon peppers, jalapenos, and a curry plant. Round two of potatoes, soybeans, and arugala, round one of mung beans. See #7, Work on local food systems for more!

2. Harvest something: green onions, parsley, mint/oregano for drying, arugala, amaranth leaves, rosemary, lavender, thyme, basil, strawberries (MMMMM… note to self, plant MORE, MORE, MORE)

3. Preserve something: My first batch of Kombucha is coming right along… I’ve got a VERY thin layer of SCOBY forming! Still working on vanilla extract. First round of herbs hanging to dry.

4. Preparation and Storage: took Sharon’s questions from the other day and started answering them, explaining my goals, motivations, and dreams is really helpful; not to mention having a plan is the first step in getting it done! Working on Breakfast from storage. B found a great deal on bell peppers, so we chopped and froze them.

5. Cook something/Eat the Food: Had the last jar of cherry jam – it was really good, this coming from someone who doesn’t really like cherries! Found a great recipe (sorta) from the B’ham coop for using quinoa, carrots, and parsley. Batch cooking – beans, spaghetti sauce, rice, oats, etc. baked bread with freshly cut herbs…

6. Manage your reserves: Used some of the frozen produce in the freezer to make room for more/get it outta there… started dating everything that gets opened to get an idea on how much we use (especially on condiments like shoyu and katsup)

7. Work on local food systems: Planted plants that were destined for the compost (overgrown/not okay for sale) – nasturtiums, peas, two kinds of beans, etc. Planted peas, bush beans, and parsley with kiddos from the apartment complex I volunteer with – discussed basic techniques of cultivation w/them. Discussed other cultivation techniques with adults working on the project (e.g. Broccoli gets big – needs more than 4 inches of space…). Prepared area for bean-tipis, if more kiddos would have come to plant (only 3 out of 15-20 came!), the bean-tipis would have been in. Does it count if Grandma gave me jam – she’s not local, but I went down there, and it was local to her! Local milk (MMM, Golden Glen Creamery!) Pork chops, tomatoes and radishes from the Farmer’s Market, Oh, and we get eggs from B’s co-worker (OMG, I’ll forgo eggs before eating store-bought again!), lettuce from locally supplied (and locally owned) produce stand.

8. Reduce Waste: Acquired more jugs to use as planters… used paper bags from work that just held ground coffee once for produce, used my tumbler or didn’t get a drink @ work, **Gross alert** Jessi-Lou threw up the other day, and instead of using paper towels for the whole mess and the carpet cleaning, we just used them for the really icky parts, and then used rags (well washed afterwards, and sun-bleached) for the rest. **end Gross alert**

9. Learned a skill: still (slowly) working on Spanish... Learned three ways to eat radishes, learned to cook pork chops, and I am learning to treat “hot spots” without chemicals (and without Bag Balm).

My new category: 10. To Learn or Do or Find/Purchase List:
In no particular order and certainly never finished: Lehman’s (or similar) hand-wash agitator, get shoes repaired, find old tire parts to attempt to craft own shoes from, seek out affordable, sustainable diet for Jessi-Marie Wigglesnort…

Independence Day #3

1. Plant something: corn, green beans x2, black beans, Lena Cisco’s Bird Egg beans, spinach, lettuce, radishes, amaranth, transplanted tomatoes, basil, cauliflower, broccoli

2. Harvest something: oregano, rosemary, green onions, sage, mint, parsley

3. Preserve something: Started my first batch of Kombucha… does that count? Still working on vanilla extract.

4. Preparation and Storage: Labeled pantry, decided on a few other organization things that need to get done…

5. Cook something/Eat the Food: husband and I decided that our jam next year would be much more fruit and much less sugar (after eating several kinds of jam on our sandwiches this week)

6. Manage your reserves: Used some of the older grains I had hiding in my ucky pantry…

7. Work on local food systems: talked to FIL about using old bean seed (he and MIL have bean seed from 2003) for the garden the kids I work with are planting, made a point to purchase local produce this week, and remember the name of the farm when we ate.

8. Reduce Waste: remembered bags for shopping, took reusable tumblers, finally brought H2O bottles from house to car… adopted some milk jugs that would have been just recycled… now they’ll help grow food!

9. Learned a skill: still (slowly) working on Spanish, talked with community member who is trying to learn English, made a plan to work together once a week. I don’t know if its learned… but we tried planting pole beans with corn… no squash with it… but we’ll see what I can accomplish with my powers of persuasion, muah ha ha!!!!

Independence Days #2

1. Plant something: thyme, transplanted tomatoes

2. Harvest something: oregano, rosemary, green onions, sage

3. Preserve something: nothing new, working on vanilla extract.

4. Preparation and Storage: Organized pantry, purchased bins to aid in organizing pantry and other areas, found small plastic containers (think smaller than pill bottles) for storing small seeds in over the winter, came up with new way to transplant tomatoes (don’t know if it will work or not – take a gallon milk jug, rinsed out, and cut out about 1/3 of the opening, down to where the side straightens out, then across – so about half of the side is exposed. Poke holes in the bottom, fill with soil, add plant. Water through the handle to get straight to the roots!), cleaned out glass near-gallon jars for water storage…

5. Cook something/Eat the Food: baked bread (from old beer and fresh herbs!), baked banana bread/muffins from super-sale (and freegan) bananas, tried Jerusalem Artichokes (will try a few more times before I give my opinion), made beans again...

6. Manage your reserves: Cleaning out the pantry definitely helped with managing reserves, found flour and rice that needs used before we start with the newer stuff!

7. Work on local food systems: We tried to go to the Farmer’s Market, I swore the website said the first Saturday in May was the start date, but apparently, it’s the last Saturday in May. We also went to the Master Gardener’s Plant sale and picked up some very lovely plants! Talked with kids who weren’t there last week about the garden that was planted, and we checked on our seeds – the flowers my group planted are up (marigolds and others), we sampled the spearmint that is attempting to take over the bed, and talked about where food comes from (Doritos are from corn, etc.)

8. Reduce Waste: remembered bags for shopping, purchased a reusable tumbler for B’s iced mochas, hopefully he will be able to keep track of and clean it!

9. Learned a skill: still (slowly) working on Spanish. Learned and practiced making tortillas on our new (wooden – very cute!) tortilla press!

Independence Day #1

For those of you who are new to the Independence Days Challenge, check it out here. Below are descriptions from Sharon's blog from last year, beneath each category is my current response.

1. Plant something. Obviously, those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere and having spring are doing this anyway. But the idea that you should plant all week and all year is a good reminder to those of us who sometimes don’t get our fall gardens or our succession plantings done regularly. Remember, that beet you harvested left a space - maybe for the next one to get bigger, but maybe for a bit of arugula or a fall crop of peas, or a cover crop to enrich the soil. Independence is the bounty of a single seed that creates an abundance of zucchini, and enough seeds to plant your own garden and your neighbor’s.

Plant something: Cucumber and melons (under cover), kale, arugla (sp), soy beans, beets, carrots, parsnips, transplanted (in greenhouse) tomatoes, eggplant, peppers (hot and sweet), already had planted (so I remember what all I’ve got going) potatoes, garlic, shallots, lentils (they are up!!!), peas, dill, herbs, and I’m sure I’m missing some…

2. Harvest something. From the very first nettles and dandelions to the last leeks and parsnips I drag out of the frozen ground, harvest something from the garden or the wild every day you can. I can’t think of a better way to be aware of the bounty around you to realize that there’s something - even if it is dandelions for tea or wild garlic for a salad - to be had every single day. Independence is really appreciating and using the bounty that we have.

Harvest something: green onions, oregano

3. Preserve something. Sometimes this will be a big project, but it doesn’t have to be. It doesn’t take long to slice a couple of tomatoes and set them on a screen in the sun, or to hang up a bunch of sage for winter. And it adds up fast. The time you spend now is time you don’t have to spend hauling to the store and cooking later. Independence is eating our own, and cutting the ties we have to agribusiness.

Preserve something: nothing new, working on vanilla extract.

4. Prep something. Hit a yard sale and pick up an extra blanket. Purchase some extra legumes and oatmeal. Sort out and inventory your pantry. Make a list of tools you need. Find a way to give what you don’t need to someone who does. Fix your bike. Fill that old soda bottle with water with a couple of drops of bleach in it. Plan for next year’s edible landscaping. Make back-road directions to your place and send it to family in case they ever need to come to you - or make ‘em for yourself for where you might have to go. Clean, mend, declutter, learn a new skill. Independence is being ready for whatever comes.

Preparation and Storage: “tested” car kit - made necessary additions, need to return it to the car… I’ll do that when I’m done here. Worked on menu planning/determining how much of what to plant, didn’t get far.

5. Cook something. Try and new recipe, or an old one with a new ingredient. Sometimes it is hard to know what to do with all that stuff you are growing or making. So experiment now. Can you make a whole meal in your solar oven? How are stir-fried pea shoots? Stuffed squash blossoms? Wild morels in pasta? Independence is being able to eat and enjoy what is given to us. AND 6. Manage your reserves. Check those apples and take out the ones starting to go bad and make sauce with it. Label those cans. Clean out the freezer. Ration the pickles, so you’ll have enough to last to next season. Use up those lentils before you take the next ones out of the bag. Find some use for that can of whatever it is that’s been in the pantry forever. Sort out what you can donate, and give it to the food pantry. Make sure the squash are holding out. Independence means not wasting the bounty we have.

Eat the Food - made beans (vice opening a can of ‘em), cleaned out the fridge, insisted on leftovers versus cooking again, made “Jordan Surprise,” a family dish with a very precise recipe: use what’s in the fridge/pantry that needs used, and make it taste halfway decent. Got water to over 180 degrees in less than one hour in solar oven.

7. Work on local food systems. This could be as simple as buying something you don’t grow or make from a local grower, or finding a new local source. It could be as complex as starting a coop or a farmer’s market, creating a CSA or a bulk store. You might give seeds or plants or divisions to a neighbor, or solicit donations for your food pantry. Maybe you’ll start a guerilla garden or help a homeschool coop incubate some chicks. Maybe you’ll invite people over to your garden, or your neighbors in for a homegrown meal, or sing the praises of your local CSA. Maybe you can get your town to plant fruit or nut producing street trees or get a manual water pump or a garden put in at your local school. Whatever it is, our Independence days come when our neighbors and the people we love are food secure too.

Build Community Food Systems - Planted edible flowers and vegetables with local kids in raised beds at their apartment complex, we discussed how plants grow, what’s important for growth, and why we should grow even just a few of our own. This is an ongoing project I’m working on, a community garden (and one set of raised beds) run by the kiddos (K-10) that live in the apartment complexes (that are specifically for families who earn a significant part of their income from “migrant” labor), if anyone has any ideas, links, or suggestions, please let me know (comment on my blog… wherever you feel inclined)…

8. Reduce Waste

Reduce Waste: researched how to compost citrus (slowly, small amount at a time, or wait until they are rotten) and set aside a specific place for citrus composting (we found a 3lb. bag of organic lemons for $1 at a local bargain store)

9. Learned a skill:

See previous comment about composting citrus peels/rinds.